Patrick Rodgers (you may remember him from this) spent sixteen years in the music industry, traveling all over the world, and it is on a trip to China where he fell in love with Uyghur cuisine. The Uyghur people, who live in the Xinjiang province of China, borrow some of their culinary influence from neighbors in Russia, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. After falling in love with the food, Rodgers returned to the United States only to find there are only two restaurants in the country that specialize in Uyghur cuisine. So Rodgers set out to find a way to bring Uyghur cuisine to Philadelphia.

Next Sunday, November 6th, National Mechanics (22 South 3rd Street) will be bringing in Chef Ahmet Mamut, an Uyghur chef from Phoenix, Arizona, to treat the people of Philadelphia to this rare cuisine. “As far as I know, this is the first time an Uyghur menu has ever been presented in Philadelphia,” Rodgers says.

The dinner will consist of four courses: cold salad, soup, entree, and dessert, with four options for each course (including one option each for vegan and halal diners). Two choices of traditional Uyghur bread (Rodgers’ favorite) will also be included. The menu costs $35 per person, and will feature such dishes as:

Lagman - long, handmade noodles topped with vegetables and beef or lamb
Gul Tavak – a meat and vegetable salad arranged to look like a flower with multicolored petals
Polo - a rice dish usually reserved for honored guests
Parmudin - warm bread rolls stuffed with lamb, onion, and spices

Further information and reservations can be found here, along with the full menu and list of ingredients.

This could truly be your only chance to ever eat Uyghur cuisine, and you don’t want to miss it. As an added bonus, we’ll be giving away a dinner for two to this in the near future, so keep your eyes over here.

[Photo via Serious Eats]